The archers fiercely attacked him: verse 23 consists of a series of three verb phrases, each begun by the common Hebrew connective, and the series is followed by the one who does these actions; the actions are: (1) “showed him bitterness [hostility],” (2) “shot at him,” (3) “attacked” or “persecuted him.” Archers is literally “men of arrows.” It may need to be rendered more generally as “warriors” or “men with weapons,” or simply as “his enemies.” Him refers to Joseph. If the translator is using the second person, him will be rendered “you.” Revised Standard Version is a satisfactory model for translation.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .